Cleanups
The 2023 Great American Cleanup is now closed.
Thank you for volunteering this GAMC! We had a record-breaking spring, all thanks to YOU!
Keep Arkansas Beautiful proudly promotes two annual cleanups – the Great American Cleanup and the Great Arkansas Cleanup. Our goal is to turn the entire state "clean", by sponsoring a cleanup in every single county in Arkansas! Thank you to 75 counties who took the Go Clean Challenge this fall during the GAC! Interested in finding a volunteer event near you? Click here to visit our Calendar of Events.
Keep America Beautiful’s Great American Cleanup takes place each spring from March through May and is the nation’s largest community improvement effort. Thousands of Arkansas volunteers clean up and beautify their communities before the tourism and vacation seasons begin.
The Great Arkansas Cleanup takes place each fall from September (the first Saturday after Labor Day) through October. Thousands of Arkansans remove tons of trash from our state’s roadways, shorelines, parks, and public areas during this statewide community improvement campaign.
In 2022, more than 17,500 volunteers clocked in over 145,000 volunteer hours! The total economic value returned back to communities in Arkansas in 2022 was $4,798,926.
We did it! Together, we turned the entire map of Arkansas (ALL 75 COUNTIES) clean, green and beautiful in 2022! Way to go, volunteers!
Thank you to all our Coordinating Partners who organized cleanup events in their communities across the state. View our 2022 Coordinating Partners here!
Thank you to all the towns and cities who participated in cleanup events across the state. View our 2022 Towns/Cities Impacted here!
2022 Great American & Great Arkansas Cleanup Online Forms
2023 Great American & Great Arkansas Cleanup Coordinator Materials (downloadable forms)
- Event Forms
- Volunteer Forms
2023 Great American & Great Arkansas Cleanup Planning & Promotion
- How to Organize a Community Cleanup (Video)
- How to Organize a Community Cleanup (PDF)
- Easy Promotional Ideas
- Develop Your Disposal Plan – Contact your local Solid Waste District prior to your event!
- Customizable News Release
- Get Involved Flyer
- Cleanup Safety Tips
- CAUTION! Volunteers removing litter ahead – Sign Template
- Place Trash Here (PDF) – Sign Template
- Please Don’t Litter (PDF) – Sign Template
- Please Recycle Here (PDF) – Sign Template
Keep America Beautiful Tools
About the Great American Cleanup
Once a community signs on to host a Great American Cleanup in Arkansas event, KAB will work with that community to organize and publicize the effort. KAB will provide volunteers with GLAD® trash bags, gloves, safety vests and T-shirts. Promotional materials available to communities include banners, flyers, customizable news release, volunteer stickers and educational resources. The KAB Facebook page and website are also available to coordinators to promote their events.
During the 2022 Great American Cleanup in Arkansas, 9,070 volunteers worked more than 72,500 hours in communities across the state, cleaning up and improving over 758 public spaces in 68 counties. This community improvement effort involved 308 events, with volunteers collecting 144 TONS of litter from 855 miles of roadways, 417 miles of waterways and shorelines, and 758 acres of parks and public areas!
Arkansans also recycled 4,773 tires and 395 TONS of bulky waste and litter.
The total economic value of the 2022 Great American Cleanup to Arkansas communities was $2,475,594.30.
About the Great Arkansas Cleanup
The Great Arkansas Cleanup began in 1969 as the Greers Ferry Lake and Little Red River Cleanup. In 1985, then - U.S. Sen. Dale Bumpers guided legislation requiring an annual pickup event during the weekend after Labor Day on all federal lands. This law, the Carl Garner Federal Lands Cleanup Act, honors the founder of the event. Mr. Garner continued his advocacy for a clean and litter-free environment until his death in 2014. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, along with other hosts and partners, have continued the Greers Ferry Lake and Little Red River Cleanup efforts for more than 50 years.
During the 2022 Great Arkansas Cleanup, more than 8,724 volunteers worked nearly 73,000 hours in communities across the state, cleaning up and improving 690 public spaces in all 75 counties. The community improvement effort involved 275 events, with volunteers collecting over 313 TONS of litter from 1,149 miles of roadways, 171 miles of waterways, and more than 8,00 acres of parks and public areas.
The total economic value of the 2022 Great Arkansas Cleanup to Arkansas communities was $2,323,331.70.
If you have questions about a Great American Cleanup or Great Arkansas Cleanup event in your community, please email us at: keeparbeautiful@arkansas.com.
